This article brings to the fore some features
outside India associated with the word / name Sibi.
The article can be better understood
after reading the previous two,
King Śibi, a descendant of Yayati’s son Anu left an
indelible mark in later Indian history – in Buddhism and in the Indus valley
that was predominantly occupied by his off-springs. The influence of his
authority spread to north of Afghanistan too, by two of his sons, Kaikaya and Madra who
occupied the territories in the northern regions that encompass what is today
known as BMAC.
Though much of it is yet to researched, one can notice an amazing connection to
a farther northern region, i.e., Siberia!
The etymology of the name Siberia is still debated,
but there is unanimity in the opinion that it was originally connected with a name ‘Sibir’ or ‘Śibir’. There
are written records since the 13th century by travellers of Chinese
and Arab origin referring to a location called Sibir. This name was ancient but
without a convincing etymology. Those who can say something about it – i.e.,
the indigenous people of Sibir – are very less in number today, as most of them
have been eliminated centuries ago. From what little is known, they were pagan worshipers and shamanists. It is from Sibir, the entire region came to be called as Siberia.
Sibir certainly raises our curiosity for its phonetic
similarity with Sibi, the king of ancient India, who lived before Rama.
When we start looking for clues for possible links
with Indian Sibi, the foremost one is found in its very location. Sibir is the region located at the confluence
of two rivers – a sangama - that is
sacred in Vedic culture. The two rivers
are River
Irtysh and its tributary Tobol.
In Vedic culture, numbers 3, 5, and 7 are important –
like 3 gunas, 5 elements and 7 sages. Sacred rivers are identified by these
numbers. They either have 3 sources or flow through 3 worlds. The three worlds
are heaven referring to origin in a higher location; say a mountain, earth
referring to the flow on the ground and Nether world referring to ocean whose
bottom is low. Number 5 and 7 are the number of streams that join the river.
Such rivers are sacred in Vedic culture.
In the above
picture one can see River Tobol joined with 5 and 7 tributaries, qualifying her
as 5-sistered or 7-sistered - Sapta Tobol! If some Vedic people were around, they
would have chosen this region as a divine one. Sibir is located where Tobol
joins River Irtysh. River Irtysh too exhibits unique feature as one flowing
through 3 worlds. Starting from Altai Mountain, Irtysh falls into the lower
terrain and enters Lake Zaysan. This qualifies it to be a river of three courses. It re-emerges from the lake
and flows further North West where it is joined by River Tobol.
There is one more confluence down the course of River
Irtysh, where it joins River
Ob. But that confluence does not exhibit the kind of features found in the
confluence of Irtysh and Tobol. Therefore the choice of the confluence for founding a place by name Sibir
(or originally Sibi) shows the hand of the Vedic people in locating the
sacredness of a place.
The names of tributaries of rivers Tobol and Irtysh also
sound like Sanskrit words. Rivers Om and Tara are straight away from Sanskrit. Some of the tributaries
of Tobol have phonetic similarity with Sanskrit. Toura
(Tura?), Pychma (paschima meaning west?), Astana and Kostanay (some sthana)
resemble Sanskrit words. The main river Irtysh that comes down from Altai
Mountain (right hand corner in the above picture) is known as Kara Irtysh in its upper reaches, where Kara is black
in the local language. This is similar to Kala in Sanskrit. After it crosses
Lake Zayson it is known as White Irtysh. Such naming is common in Vedic
culture.
Supporters of Aryan Invasion / Migration Theory
might be tempted to use these hints to justify the origin of Vedic people from
these regions. But the basic issue is why the name Sibir came here at the first place. The root of the name Sibi can only
be associated with ancient India. His lineage starting from Anu,
assigned to occupy the regions in the Northern direction of ancient India, it
is only but logical to assume that the descendants of Sibi gradually moved
towards further North and one among them found the confluence of Irtysh and
Tobol to be a conducive place to lead a Vedic life they were already following.
Within the times of Sibi, two of his sons
established kingdoms at Madra (Balkh) and Kekaya (north of it, perhaps north of
Oxus River). Further north, Arkaim
is found to house a structure with Vedic symbols. Dated variously between 4th
and 2nd millennium BCE, this structure was formed in the later
period compared to Sibi’s times which can be dated at the 6th
millennium BCE, centuries before Rama. Arkaim offers a link of a migratory path from Kekaya to
further north – to Sibir.
One can notice the same Sangama concept (Confluence
of rivers) in the location of Arkaim. It is located at the confluence of two
rivers called Karakanga
and Utya-kanga. The
name ‘Kanga’ sounds like Ganga! The name Ganga originated in India only. Only from India this
name could have travelled to other places. It is because Ganga was one of the
two daughters of Himavan, the other being Uma. (Valmiki Ramayana 1-35). The
Himalayan connection is there for Ganga right from her origination.
Ganga’s earlier name was Jahnavi,
after she passed through Sage Jahnu’s hermitage. This name is found as Jahnaavi in Rig Veda. (Sage Jahnu was not a
migrant-Aryan, as he was the ancestor of Visvamitra). After she (Ganga)
inundated the ashes of the sons of Sagara, she was given the name Bhagirathi, after Bhagiratha (Valmiki Ramayana 1-44). But
the name even before she came down from the Himalayas was Ganga. Looking at the etymology, the root word is ‘gam’
for going. She who keeps going or moving is Ganga!
She kept moving around the coils of Siva’s hair – a reference to the coil-like
passage through which she descends from the mountain. After reaching plains she
kept moving behind Bhagiratha. And she keeps moving relentlessly in her course
through the three worlds! So she is Ganga.
Such a name in Arkaim – though sounds corrupted now
as Kanga could have been coined
by someone connected with ancient India! But scholars who have their
mind steeped into Aryan Invasion Theory keep
talking about Arkaim as a place of Indo Aryan origins from where they spread to
India. If true, why didn’t the invading or migrant Aryans start calling the
rivers they crossed first, Sindhu and Sarasvati as Ganga, in memory of the two Kangas
at Arkaim? But by the time the Aryans were supposed to have entered, Ganga was
very old. The sedimentary analysis of Ganga would reveal how old she was, but
she was older than Sibi’s times.
The memory of Ganga from East and that of Sibi from
the west of India had been carried by the later generations of Sibi who
gradually moved towards Northern parts of Europe. Arkaim and Sibir are
reminders of such a movement.
PS: Musings on Sibi not yet over! There is one more article on Sibi, tracing a migration from Altai Mountain to South East Asia. Will follow next.
References:
"Notes on the origin of the name
'Siberia'" http://www.jstor.org/stable/4204202?seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents
'A History of the Peoples of Siberia: Russia's North
Asian Colony 1581-1990' by James Forsyth. (pages 25-26)
